Questions about 98-99 Trans Ams

[jamesp81]

In my neverending question for a used car that suits me, I'm considering buying American instead of foreign. The main reason for this is that the foreign car makers have got to where their cars are either exceedingly boring, are stylish but are essentially all show and no go (Honda and Toyota, I'm talking to you), or are too costly (Nissan).

Within my price point is the 98-99 Pontiac Trans Am. Now that's a vehicle that can back up its looks with actual performance. I was wondering if anyone here had ever owned one and could tell me something about it's dependability. I can probably afford to get one with around 75k miles on it, and I was wondering how well the engine, transmission, and electrical stuff on it held up. I don't mind getting little trim type things worked on, but I don't want to be having to take it in to a shop and getting things like transmissions replaced at 120k miles. How well does the engine and transmission age as it gets into high mileage? If I take care of it, can I expect to get 150k-200k miles or should I expect it to lay down on me before that?

[poormillionaire2]

Dependability and life span weigh heavily on how well the previous owner(s) took care of it. These are sports cars, and most have been flogged and driven into the ground pretty hard. But they're fun as shit to drive.
If it has been routinely maintained and not driven harshly every other day since new, it should be decent. Are you looking into an auto or manual? Get a carfax report before you make a final decision though.

[jamesp81]

Originally Posted by poormillionaire2

Dependability and life span weigh heavily on how well the previous owner(s) took care of it. These are sports cars, and most have been flogged and driven into the ground pretty hard. But they're fun as shit to drive.
If it has been routinely maintained and not driven harshly every other day since new, it should be decent. Are you looking into an auto or manual? Get a carfax report before you make a final decision though.

Definitely a manual. I'll definitely be doing the Carfax thing as well.

[poormillionaire2]

Well, after a carfax, the only thing to do is take out for a test drive, inspect the car thoroughly, talk to the owner (if buying from a private seller), and possibly see if you could have your mechanic check the car out before you buy it. Good luck.

[jamesp81]

Originally Posted by poormillionaire2

Well, after a carfax, the only thing to do is take out for a test drive, inspect the car thoroughly, talk to the owner (if buying from a private seller), and possibly see if you could have your mechanic check the car out before you buy it. Good luck.

Getting a mechanic to check it out is going to be impossible, considering that the closest TA I can find is 2 and half hours away.

[gmack221]

Originally Posted by jamesp81

Getting a mechanic to check it out is going to be impossible, considering that the closest TA I can find is 2 and half hours away.

getting your mechanic to look at it may be impossible, getting a mechanic to look at it is possible. Call and schedule a test drive, have a mechanic set up nearby to inspect it, you use the internet, search for a shop by the car and give yourself 1 hr to look it over & test drive it before going to the mechanic, make sure the lot or owner knows your going to take it to a mechanic, then specifically ask "whats wrong with this car", since they know the mechanic's going to find the problems they will usually tell you what they know. Be sure to explain that you will need the car for atleast 2 hrs for the test drive and inspection, a good mechanic will tell you how much he's going to charge to inspect it over the phone, if your not comfortable talking to him on the phone call another place in the area until you find one that your comfortable with. Also be sure to test drive it in the city and on the highway, some things show up in town, some on the highway. good luck & buy american
ps. all muscle cars are going to be driven hard, its like finding a riced out honda, you just know what happened to it before ... find one owned by an older person, they atleast know how to beat something without trashing it, don't buy it from an 18 yr old ...

[CreepingDeath94]

The engines on these are pretty durable...since youre looking at a manual, that eliminates the weak auto. issue. I had to rebuild my automatic at about 80K and I doubt any last beyond 100K without serious babying. The manuals on these cars have Dexron III tranny fluid...so it should be changed more often I think than the older manuals that everyone just sort of forgot about til the shifter started popping out of third or something. I would say if you get one with under 100K, and it was at least not beaten every day of its life, it should be pretty reliable driveline wise.

The rear diffs on these things are pretty weak too and tend to need bearings if they were beaten on at all or the fluid wasnt changed regularly...weak link in the driveline i think. As long as its not howling when you drive it, you should be ok if you maintain it and dont beat it too hard. Aside from that, every Firebird Ive had has always gotten me where I need to go...just sometimes the headlights are stuck up or the radiator has a small leak or some other nickel and dime issue may be occurring...but it always was reliable enough to start and get me to work. Good luck with the search.

[gmack221]

never a bad idea to change the trans fluid, but according to tremec (the maker of the trans) they are lube for life, which means you don't need to change the trans fluid. I just got done doing a rebuild on mine ... but that was because of the previous owners non-shifting ability. The weak link in these tranny's is 3-4 syncro's, & the 3-4 shift fork. If it grinds going into any gear you probably have a bad syncro, if it pops out of gear you have a bad shift fork.

[stephenie/tn]

Originally Posted by CreepingDeath94

The engines on these are pretty durable...since youre looking at a manual, that eliminates the weak auto. issue. I had to rebuild my automatic at about 80K and I doubt any last beyond 100K without serious babying. The manuals on these cars have Dexron III tranny fluid...so it should be changed more often I think than the older manuals that everyone just sort of forgot about til the shifter started popping out of third or something. I would say if you get one with under 100K, and it was at least not beaten every day of its life, it should be pretty reliable driveline wise.

The rear diffs on these things are pretty weak too and tend to need bearings if they were beaten on at all or the fluid wasnt changed regularly...weak link in the driveline i think. As long as its not howling when you drive it, you should be ok if you maintain it and dont beat it too hard. Aside from that, every Firebird Ive had has always gotten me where I need to go...just sometimes the headlights are stuck up or the radiator has a small leak or some other nickel and dime issue may be occurring...but it always was reliable enough to start and get me to work. Good luck with the search.

Where is the T/S flasher in 99 TA?